Topic: 2019 NBA Pre-Season - page 404. (Read 903329 times)

In this situation, the management is at a disadvantage because if they oblige Lillard to play and he does play, they will have to pay him his salary. However, the question remains: will Lillard still perform at the same level as he did before he demanded to be traded? If not, then the Trail Blazers will risk losing fans, viewership, and revenue. That's the bigger picture I see if they continue to force Lillard to play.

Agree to that, it will affect the overall performances of the team if your main alpha is not playing at his best, along the way maybe Portland will find the suited offer for Dame then trade him to that team who will give them the best offer.

We can't dictate what will happen as there are many factors that may affect the trade and knowing this league
surprises are no longer new. We never know what will be the plan and how it will be executed.

Exactly. However, are they willing to accept what Lillard would offer knowing he is not 100% happy playing with the team? This is a team game, and Lillard is their superstar. What if his statistics drop? That would affect the future of the team, as they might not make it to the playoffs. So, I guess, although the Blazers might delay the inevitable, eventually they will trade Lillard to a team he desires. Miami will be eagerly waiting, as their current roster is still capable of reaching the Finals again.

Nobody could force Portland to make that trade if they do not want to, Dame was the one who accepted such a huge salary that he deserved but also a very long one. He is signed until 2026 or so I think, which means that when he was signing that deal, he knew that he would not be able to leave, and he had to accept it as a fact that Portland may not trade him at all. I feel like now him wanting out is not fair, they have paid him so much because they agreed on the money but also the term of the deal as well, maybe they would have offered less if he wanted a 1-2 year contract, who knows? Maybe they found it worthy because he agreed a long term deal and they made their decisions based on that? If he wants to leave, that's his right to want to leave, but if they want to keep him, then they have every right to not trade him.

As you have said, it's not going to happen, perhaps the best they can offer is Hero and then some future draft picks, which I think the Blazers are not willing to. I'm just thinking if they will get Hero, then they could developed him as their own new franchise player.

Nevertheless it's not going to happen as Portland might be looking for more players to be included and the best they can ask maybe is Bam. But he is part of the center piece of the Heat so it's a no go for Miami.

Top 10 center in the league he says, haha.
Didn't this guy see him play in Taiwan? I saw him play, live in the arena 3 times. Even in Taiwan he can't dominate in the paint and had problems with some guys, so how would he in the NBA.
Also, at GSW he would also just be the backup center. How would he be a backup as a top 10 center, smh.

Lowry actually did great on the last Finals, he is actually the one who is more composed than any other player in the Miami Heat team. Butler is inconsistent, he is shaky, and it's actually normal with him, we've seen that quite a lot of times already. Then their undrafted players, most of them are already traded for someone else.
What they need is for Tyler Herro to be back in a healthy body and Caleb Martin to train harder for his game to step up.
I doubt the Heat actually want to move more and that is why they cannot end a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers for Damian. It will mean destroying the built chemistry that made them reach the Finals again, the only thing they need is a bit of an upgrade.

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After reading this, I felt like I went to the land of the Giants.
https://www.nba.com/lakers/news/lakers-2023-24-training-camp-preview-forwards-and-bigs
Lakers 2023-24 Training Camp Preview: Forwards and Bigs
Look at the big-man roster.
Anthony Davis, F/C
Rui Hachimura, F
Jaxson Hayes, C/F
LeBron James, F
Jarred Vanderbilt, F
Christian Wood, F
These guys will not let anyone get near the rim.

I think the Blazers wouldn't have any hesitation and would have agreed to a trade with the Heat a long time ago if the Heat front office included either Butler or Adebayo in the deal. Obviously, that's not going to happen, as the Heat want to build a super team by keeping those two guys and getting a player like Lillard by trading only role players for him.

Not sure if that is possible and I see over lapses in terms of offense if chances permit that Ayton will be traded for Dame, putting 4 stars who all have the need to hold the ball. I mean more on offensive arsenal.

Suns should stay with Ayton, still young and good as a two-way player, both offense and
defense Ayton can provide if the coach will be able to maximize him when playing together
with the 3 superstars that they've got.

I would guess that when a player plays a good role for a team that goes to finals, it is quite possible that they will get big offers and it is rare that the team that went to finals could match it since the yare already maxed out with contracts anyway. Heat will need just one more trade, which is sending Lowry away, because no matter how good he is, he is not a championship caliber PG in my book, and get someone that can help them with it.

To be fair not many remember who was the PG at Lakers when they won at 2020, or Giannis won with which PG along with him, we may know because we follow NBA closely but not really common knowledge. So, maybe they can still win with Lowry as well but I feel like someone better could make the difference.

I think the Warriors for sure has taken that account into consideration when they opted him for a try out. And the same with Howard, he knows that he will be just like a 10-15 minutes player or even less, but still he take that chances, but it wasn't meant for him to be a Warriors a guess.

For the Lillard and Harden drama, I would just wait for the official news though. It seems that every day there is different directions for this two whether to stay on their current teams or they be traded.

He is 37 with nearly 20 years of professional miles on him.  Was pointing out he is no way going to change a team one way or another.  He probably will only get 10-15 minutes a game tops and that's depending on the matchup.  Throw him out there 20+ minutes and he will break down.  He is a pounder that's a young man's game.

At this point, it's everyone's speculation. And again, this situation though might get ugly. If Portland has shut down it's door of a Lillard trade because they felt that Miami is taking advantage of them, like asking too many players + future drafts and Portland doesn't want that, then it won't happen.

Maybe both will be traded soon, but not to the team that they desire. I understand that Harden and Lillard wanted out, but it might be putting too much pressure to their current teams right now. So most likely no trades to the team that they wanted to move.

^ I am not sure, but I think there is a chance of both the deals happening to be honest. If both the teams actually want them badly, I don't see why this trade between them is not going to happen! But in my opinion, right now the Damian Lillard trade does seem to be really hard to happen. Portland trailblazers are not being very transparent with this after all. So I think there is definitely a chance for both of the trades to happen. But the Damian Lillard one is going to be hard.

There is also a chance for neither of the trades to happen. But I think that chance is actually pretty slim.

Although I agree that Warriors need a more athletic player and an important presence in the paint, Dwight Howard might not be the best candidate for this vacancy. And I agree that there might be some conflict in the negotiations that we don't know and it could be anything. Also, I think there are big problems with the Warriors. Their last championship was great and it is a huge success, but I don't think there is anything left in the tank and their management is making bad moves. It is hard to creating another championship team but their recent moves and signings don't make sense in my view. They will probably make playoffs but any real success is almost not possible IMO.

Chris Haynes is reporting that Portland is refusing to speak to Miami about a Damian Lillard trade now. Apparently they are tired of negotiations they believe are taking advantage of them and have tasked Miami with putting together a multiple team trade without any communication from them. That’s unlikely to succeed in my opinion.

The question is, who will get the trade they want? Harden to the Clippers or Dame to the Heat? Maybe both or neither?

And the new coach Darko Rajakovic for the Toronto Raptors too with a history with Dennis Schroder back in Oklahoma City Thunder so I guess Schroder will be part of the starting five considering Fred VanVleet is already out and will be playing for the Houston Rockets.
Barnes, OB, Poetl (claimed from SAS), Siakam, and Schroder. That will be the Raptors starting five in my opinion and Trent Jr. will be there as their sixth man which I think is best as he can be a threat as an outside shooter so whenever they need Schroder to rest the play will be so different that it could surprise any team.

I don't know why the Atlanta Hawks let Collins go for Rudy Gay and a future pick. They just downgraded their roster as they received a veteran and a future so I don't think they are aiming high this year.

Joe Harris's trade to the Pistons though is given. The Nets cannot take advantage of him right now because they received so many good role players with Bridges and Johnson. But the Nets badly need a star or they could create one on whoever will step up on their active roster.

Nah, Ayton wouldn't be enough, even though he averaged a double-double. But with the Trail Blazers, it's an entirely different game. We've seen this kind of scenario in the past where players perform well on one team but struggle when traded. For example, Carmelo Anthony was a superstar with the NYK but struggled when he was traded, and I think there are lots of players with the same fate. So, I must say that the Suns are taking a high risk with it.

They might not sign him, but they will still sign a veteran though.

TBH, I'm not surprised that the Warriors didn't gave him a contract. The reason why they didn't sign him is because of how the current playstyle of the Warriors are currently. We've known the Warriors as a fast-paced team, and they're one of the fastest paced teams right now in the league. Howard can't cope up because he will be having a hard time running, and running. Looney is at least faster him IMO. I think that's the reason why. The playstyle isn't fit for him. Now that he will not go to the Warriors, I wonder where he will be landing. Will other teams try to get him, and give him a veteran contract? Or will he go back to Taiwan again, and attract those NBA players to play with him in Taiwan again.

Media wants hype. Media wants to hype up everything that's why they are always very overexaggerated with their articles, and even with some of their videos that's being posted on Youtube.

Unfortunate? Legit Center? Is Looney aren't a legit center? You sure? I'm a Warrior fan, but if I will pick between Looney, and Howard with how the Warriors are playing, I'll still pick the player who's been playing with them for years, and that's Looney. Lol it's a no brainer. Why pick a center who's slower than your current one? They have Saric, and the rookie as their back-up bigs. They don't need a big player TBH, but I think they'll need a veteran who's good at shooting threes, or a role player who's good in offense as well.

It could be the scenario. Overall if I were the Phoenix Suns' management I also want to stick with Ayton. The guy has been with them since day 1 and is mostly familiar with their plays and chemistry already. If they are planning to trade Ayton then they better make it private as much as possible. Ayton may felt unwanted soon if the rumors were true that he's been in the trading block for years already.

But what I know is Portland's priority right now is to get an excellent deal for Damian Lillard. I have begun to wonder if Ayton is enough for Lillard. Phoenix though has Beal already and it might be difficult to put Booker at SF.